UPI 2.0 Launched With Several New Features But Misses Key Features

After a delay of several months, an upgraded version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), UPI 2.0, has finally been launched. The launch took place in Mumbai with select members from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), banks and the Reserve Bank of India.

NPCI is the umbrella organization for all retail payments in the country. It also manages the UPI platform that facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on a mobile platform, without requiring details of the beneficiary’s bank account.

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While the new version of the payments service introduces several new features, the absence of key features such as recurring payments, is bound to leave users and industry players disappointed.

New Features of UPI 2.0

Overdraft account– In addition to current and savings accounts, customers can now also link their overdraft enabled bank accounts to UPI accounts, which will let them make transactions even if their accounts don’t have the necessary funds. However, the limits placed by the concerned banks will apply.

Increased Transaction limit– The transaction limit for UPI 2.0 has now been doubled from the earlier version of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

One-time Mandate– This would allow customers to block a certain amount of funds from their bank accounts to pay for a product or service prior to availing it. It’ll be useful for booking hotel rooms, airline tickets, booking cab rides, e-commerce deliveries, and other transactions.

Invoice in Inbox– The new UPI will allow customers to view invoices before they approve a transaction and even receive an invoice when a merchant makes a payment request on UPI. It will help customers to view and verify the credentials and check whether it has come from the right merchant or not.

Signed intent and QR– UPI 2.0 will also offer a secure, and convenient way of paying via the ‘scan & pay’ feature, where customers will have the option to scan the verified QR codes of merchants before making a payment.

The second version of the popular payments railroad will initially be offered by the State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, YES Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank and HSBC. Many other banks are reportedly in the process of updating the service and will launch soon.

She started at Venture Dreams as an intern and later graduated as a writer. She is a start-up enthusiast and likes to cover stories on startup fundings and acquisitions. Feel free to contact her at [email protected]